


got my back?

by euriele



Category: Red vs. Blue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-31
Updated: 2014-10-31
Packaged: 2018-02-23 10:46:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2544725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/euriele/pseuds/euriele
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's always been her and him against the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	got my back?

The first time the two of you stand back-to-back, fists raised and ready to take on a group of bullies, you’re twelve and he’s eight, and you saw him being picked on so your sisterly instincts kicked in and you had to jump in.

"Got my back?" you ask him, you eyes on the biggest, meanest looking kid in the group.

"Yeah," he says with a nod.

The two of you charge.

 

*

 

"Got my back?" you ask.

You’re seventeen; he’s thirteen. The two of you were making your way from the grocery store back to your suburb home when the group of muggers attacked. And now you’re standing back-to-back, with nothing but your bare fists to go against the pocket knives the muggers have.

He half turns to you, his face set into a frown. He nods. “Yeah.”

You smirk.

 

*

 

"Got my back?"

You’re twenty-six, he’s twenty-two. You’re in the middle of a war zone, bullets flying overhead and explosions going off left and right. You’re two agents down already, and another goes down in the time it takes him to locate you and respond.

There’s a horde of Grunts and Elites moving in, taking down more of you as they go. Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, California - you see them all go down one by one. There’s four of you left, including you and him, and there’s a tonne of Covenant forces still left to take out.

You look across the gap between the two of you, separated by gunfire as you both crouch down short piles of rubble.

He nods. “Yeah.”

You nod back. The two of you stand and run headfirst into the line of Covenant forces.

 

*

 

You’re twenty-seven; he’s twenty-three.

"Got my back?"

You’re going mad. You’re determined to be better than Tex, to be stronger, smarter, faster. To just be better than her.

You’re being implanted with two A.I. tomorrow. You’ll be better than her.

He looks like he wants to argue, like he wants to tell you you’re being stupid, that you’re letting this whole thing get to your head and that you’re not thinking rationally.

"Got my back?" you repeat, beseeching.

He doesn’t look you in the eyes; he sighs through his nose. “Yeah.”

You nod and walk away.

 

*

 

"Got my back?"

You’re forty-one; he’s thirty-seven. It’s fourteen years since you’ve seen him, and the two of you have changed beyond recognition. You hardly see anything of the boy from PFL left in his face. He’s even wearing different coloured armour.

You’re standing back-to-back, like you have done so many times before, surrounded by enemy forces.

"Yeah."

He doesn’t even sound like himself anymore.

Then again, neither do you.

 

*

 

"Got my back?"

You say this as you load a magazine into your pistol, the barrel aimed in the direction of the horde of Tex robots that are ready to face off with you and the Reds and Blues. He’s standing beside you like he always has been.

"Yeah."

Maybe it feels like how it used to.

 

*

 

"Got my back?"

It’s not him that answers this time; it’s the voice in the back of your mind, the one that belongs to the chip implanted in the port at the base of your skull.

"Yep."

It’s not the same, but it’ll have to do.

 

*

 

"Got my back?"

You’re forty-two; he’s still thirty-seven. The two of you tried to go after Felix and Locus yourselves.

Big mistake.

You can taste blood, can see that the edges of your vision are getting fuzzy. There’s a cold feeling sweeping up your chest as more and more blood leaks lazily from the holes in your abdomen.

You twist your head, see that he’s already gone.

You’re sure you hear the ghost of a “Yeah” in the back of your head as you slip away.


End file.
